Quotes Flashcards
1948
Maxwell Fyfe: “Britain is proud that we impose no colour bar restrictions… we must maintain the great metropolitan tradition of hospitality to everyone from every part of our empire”
Empire Windrush: led to debates about coloured migration: “established debates over coloured immigration that closely associated race and immigration in both policy debates and popular media discourses”.
“Populist xenophobic campaign starts emerging at local issue in this period”.
The fears proceeded to nuance the action of the state from 1948-62 by complex political and ideological racialisation of immigration policy”.
Debates shaped immigration control and legislation to view the state as necessary to halt the ‘gathering momentum’ of black immigration and remedy the problems to society that they had caused’
Shifted debate further than the characteristics of black oriole and on to the effect that they would have on the racial character of the British people and the national identity”
Harris: “this period either excluded or included people on the grounds of race defined by colour”
“Mobilised public opinion towards greater immigration controls”
“This period of genesis and articulation of black immigration is integral to an understanding of the future events that radicalised politics”
1958
Shift in political salience. Riots consisted of attacks by whites against blacks, but this did not stop coloured migrants being cited as the dangers of unrestricted immigration.
“Events mark a notable transition from 1948, where there was further politicised debate over the desirability of letting coloured migrants into the UK and brought to prominence what had been a localisation if anti-immigration feeling”
Media: supplied basis for right wing extremists and contributed to a period of anxiety over the breakdown of social norms.
“Interplay of media activities and the riots produced a wide variety of stereotypes and popular images of black
People that further pronounced the pressure for greater immigration control. It is clear that local circumstances shape the the outlook of voters but also that this is a one-off effect, not necessarily connected to views on other issues”.
1968
“The genesis of the demand for the control of black immigration during the early 1950’s matured during 1955-62 into a concerted campaign by the cabinet, parliament, the media and political parties for action to be taken to curb the dangers of unrestricted immigration”.
“Radicalisation of black immigration was in several examples done through coded language. Commonwealth migrants were seen as a problem, but race itself was not always mentioned as the central issue”
“All immigrants were visualised as black and immigration became a coded term for racial questions”.
“From 1968 political saliency of race and immigration increases with issues of refugees and asylum seekers”
Enoch Powell, upped the anti in terms of the issue: constructed an image of white Britain’s becoming strangers in their own countries.
“Both parties accommodated the need for tighter restrictions on immigration and the necessity of allaying fears of those who were influenced by Powell’s ideas”
Thus Powellsim is a term used to describe a form political mobilisation that redefined the political discourse of race relations during the 1960’s and 70’s.
The way that he uses inflammatory language has a legitimising effect.
1978
Z.Layton Henry = mrs Thatcher’s racecraft… not that we support what the extremists are doing, but when they start to get support for their views we must analyse why they are and answer their concerns.
British nationality act (1979) - succeeds in heading of the peel of the NF.
There is not the political space there for the far right to flourish in, because however one characterises Thatcher, the authoritarian populist of Thatcher occupies that space”
Clair Short: “when talking about politicians preference shaping or accommodating… politicians have to accommodate what the public want”.
Consensus Messina
1945-1960:
Conservative and Labour posture on race relations and non-white immigration had converged.
Two pronged consensus was established =
Both parties refused to view race as a relevant political subject and race policy was formulated in a bi-partisan fashion.
By 1976 - consensus had eroded, race was now partisan and it was the first time that parties had staked out divergent positions.
1982 - more than 40% supported repatriation unconditionally.
“White non white immigration had been a recurrent concern of Conservative local branches since 1961”.
During the 1970’s like the Monday Club, the Labour race action group advocated throughout the 1970’s termination of the bipartisan racial consensus, criticising labours record on race as one of benign neglect.
Issue Voting (Sagaar and Messina)
Messina: “The mid 1970’s indicated the electoral gains to be had if the party adopted an explicit, hard line on race” - hence the conservative concern over losing support to the NF
Messina:
When majority feeing on an issue either shifts or crystallises, parties are compelled by voter pressures or the potential of reaping electoral gains to adjust their policies”
Sagaar: public opinion must be skewed, individuals must internalise the issue…
“By the 1970’s the Conservatives has succeeded in persuading an overwhelming and decisive majority of the electorate that they were tougher on immigration than their labour opponents.
“The incentives for parties to follow the crowd are simply to great to ignore”.
